The Uninvited Guest by Ruby Speechley is a fast-paced and chilling psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge from start to finish. Megan Lewis is preparing for her dream wedding, but her plans are thrown into chaos when an uninvited guest, Beth, crashes her hen weekend. Claiming to be the cousin of Megan’s fiancé, Jamie, Beth quickly wins over the group with her charm. However, her presence starts to unravel hidden secrets, especially when a game of truth or dare forces uncomfortable revelations from Megan’s past.

As the weekend unfolds, Megan realizes that Beth may not be who she claims to be, and the tension escalates as the truth about her intentions—and her connection to Megan’s fiancé—begins to surface. With distrust creeping in, Megan must figure out who she can trust as she faces the unraveling of her seemingly perfect life.

Speechley skillfully weaves a web of suspense and intrigue, keeping readers guessing until the very end. The tight, isolated setting of the hen weekend adds a sense of claustrophobia, heightening the stakes as secrets and lies come to light. The sharp, well-paced narrative builds toward a gripping climax that will leave readers questioning the true motivations of everyone involved.

The Uninvited Guest is a twist-filled psychological thriller that will appeal to fans of domestic suspense, making it a perfect read for anyone who loves a good, dark mystery with unpredictable turns.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. Megan is excited for her wedding, but an excited guest crashes the hen weekend. Beth definitely isn't who she says she is. Lots of secrets in this one and I had no idea who to trust!

I couldn't get into this one. I found it quite boring and it had some unlikeable characters. I did try!

A super fast pasted twisty thriller which I couldn’t put down until I found out everything that happened. Set within a few days of a very eventful hen do, but sadly not all of Megan’s bridesmaids are as excited about her wedding as she is! Loved each of the characters and kept me guessing to the end

I loved the beginning. It started strong, sucked me in, and loved the drama that was also immediate. And then it went downhill.

The plot was predictable, Megan was aggravating, and it become difficult to keep going.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an outstanding novel from Ruby Speechley. I'm due to attend a hen do shortly so the content of this was brilliant. It's a super whodunit of a book. Highly recommended.

The Uninvited Guest is all about secrets, lies, and a BIG surprise! I found this book to be fast paced, entertaining, and OTT. There is never a dull moment as Megan Lewis and some friends are on her hen weekend. It was meant to be a weekend of fun, hijinks, drinking, celebrating and bonding. But when Beth, an uninvited guest, arrives claiming to be Jamie's, the groom's cousin, Megan, invites her in. Soon the fun times, take a dramatic and not too fun turn!

Megan, Megan, Megan, boy did I want to pull her aside and tell her to wake up and smell the coffee. How can one person be so naive, gullible, and lacking in judgement??????? Having said that, it did make the book move quickly along. It is interesting to read where the main character is so ridiculous that my neck got sore from shaking my head at her. There are quite a few unlikeable characters in this book which had me booing and hissing at them!

This was an enjoyable and fast paced read which can easily be read in one sitting/day. It's dramatic, has many twists and turns, and there is never a dull moment. As I mentioned, it is full of secrets, lies, and a few shocking scenes.

Fast paced with some great characters and some pretty unpleasant ones too. Parts of the story were a bit far fetched but I still enjoyed it.
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC

Ruby Speechley’s The Uninvited Guest turns a bachelorette weekend into a nightmare.

From the moment Megan’s hen weekend begins, she receives an anonymous warning—cryptic, unnerving, and impossible to ignore. Then Beth arrives, claiming to be her fiancé’s cousin, and despite the red flags, Megan lets her in. When a harmless game of truth or dare takes a dark turn, Megan starts to suspect someone in the group is behind the eerie warnings.

Megan’s choices were questionable at best and the over-the-top group drama felt unrealistic at times, but the fast pace kept me hooked. A quick, entertaining thriller with plenty of girl drama and enough suspense to keep you guessing.

Interesting points: bachelorette weekend, mean girls, unlikable characters, secrets

A great pick for fans of fast, drama-filled thrillers with plenty of tension.

This thrilling ride grabs your attention from the start. Megan’s hen weekend, meant to be a carefree and fun celebration before her wedding, quickly spirals into a nightmare. Someone is clearly determined to sabotage her big day, but who? As the mystery unfolds, I was hooked and eager to uncover the truth. Megan’s decisions throughout were often puzzling and frustrating, but they kept the tension high. The finale felt a bit exaggerated, but overall, it was a highly entertaining read that kept me on my toes.

This was an entertaining read although some of the twists were ridiculous and the ending was a bit over the top

**TRIGGER WARNING: Gore in some parts **

I thoroughly enjoyed Ruby Speechley's previous books: Missing, Gone, Someone Else's Baby and Every Little Secret, so I was pleased to find out she had another one out. <br /><br />The Uninvited Guest started off well and I liked Megan's cute baby daughter, Freya, and thought her parents were caring and realistically portrayed.

I also thought the description of the house was good, and I liked how it was decorated. I didn't like Megan or her friends, as they didn't seem very mature.

Is Beth really Megan's fiancés cousin?

The twists were mostly predictable although I didn't anticipate some. I still didn't feel like the plot was mysterious enough, although it was fast paced, but I didn't feel as gripped by it as I was by Ruby's other books. It was suddenly shockingly gory in some parts, which I really didn't like, and the way that some of Megan's supposed "friends" treated her on a night out was just terrible. I almost had to abandon the book completely because of this and the gore, but I wanted to know how the novel ended.

I went between disliking Danielle and Sarah and then (very briefly) liking them, as they were the only two people who did show Megan some respect and support in the toughest parts of the story. If it were me, I would have abandoned the house and everyone earlier and gone back to my life.

It seemed like Megan wasn't a very strong character and found it hard to show self worth and fight for self-respect. I went between liking and disliking Jamie. I wasn't sure how much to trust him at some points.

This time, the book. wasn't for me, although I really wanted to like it more.

3 stars

Thanks to Ruby Speechley and Boldwood Books for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

We follow Megan, a bride-to-be, who is excited about going away for her hen party with some of her closest friends. But as she's about to leave her daughter at her parents house, someone has left something horrible in the front garden. Then there was an unexpected guest at her hen party., and the hen party turns into a disaster. they have rented a cottage, and the surprises kept coming. Megan doesn't know who she can trust. People are hiding secrets, are they about to be revealed?

The pace is fast and the plot kept me turning the pages. The characters are complex and not all of them likeable. It's filled with drama, it's tense, and the suspense builds throughout. I found myself questioning everything. It's filled with secrets and lies. This is a well-written and thrilling read.

Published 10th February 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #RubySpeechly for my ARC of #TheUninvitedGuest in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts off strong, the drama kicks off right away, and I flew through the first few chapters. However, I regret to say that the writing started to get a bit sloppy, and it was like reading a poorly written wattpad thriller.
First of all, I did not like the main character of Megan, she was very selfish, she acted immature and I felt myself screaming at her everytime she overshared with Brooke, especially after finding out she was Jamie's ex. The plot was very predictable, and it was fairly obvious how it was going to end. I think Jamie taking back Megan was a bad move. How could he trust her again after ALL of that.
There were plot inconsistencies as well. 2 examples. 1. Megan throws her friends phone in the pool, but then later on, she uses the phone to take photos and post them on all her socials. 2. Jamie is talking to Megan after she finds him when he's gone missing. Then his mouth is gagged, and then he's back to talking again.

I wouldn't recommend this book. It had a lot of promise, but it felt very rushed, and the storyline escalated down a very silly path.

3.5 stars
How far is too far? How much does a reader need to suspend imagination? When does it turn into a soap opera?

These are some questions I asked myself before writing this review. I want to clarify that this book was pretty enjoyable. It has enough mystery, red herrings to keep you hooked.

Megan starts receiving threatening messages as she celebrates her hen party. Things start escalating through the party and as the days of her wedding approach. I liked that the author showed that the FMC was not perfect midway. The arrival of an unexpected guest leaves her reeling as she doesn't understand whom to believe. Most characters were well written and the story also dealt with mental health issues.

I liked how this did not take the cliche spousal route and that it showed a very different picture. My issue is that it was stretched too far to be enjoyable. Hence I cut half a star for the resolution.

Overall this was suspenseful and devious and I would truly recommend this book to the readers.
I thank Boldwood books and NetGalley for this E-Arc and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I did not really like this one. None of the characters were likeable and events were farfetched and made the reader suspend their belief a little too far.

I ᴡᴀs ɪɴsᴛᴀɴᴛʟʏ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs. Iᴛ sᴏᴜɴᴅᴇᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀ ɢʀɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴘsʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ, ʙᴜᴛ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴇɴᴛ ᴏғғ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴀɪʟs ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ғᴇʟʟ ғʟᴀᴛ.

Tʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛᴡɪsᴛs ʙᴜᴛ Tʜᴇ FMC ᴡᴀs ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇʟʏ ᴜɴʀᴇʟᴀᴛᴀʙʟᴇ . sʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴊᴜᴠɪɴɪʟᴇ, ᴡʜɪɴᴇʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ʀᴇᴅᴜᴄᴜʟᴏᴜs ᴅᴇᴄɪsɪᴏɴs ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ.

Tʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ sʜᴏʀᴛ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ғᴏʀ ᴀ ғᴀsᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴏᴛ sᴇᴇᴍᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴅʀᴀɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴғᴏʀᴛᴜɴᴀᴛʟʏ ɪᴛ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ.

Tʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ʙᴏʟᴅᴡᴏᴏᴅ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ғᴏʀ ᴍʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʀʏ ᴄᴏᴘʏ. Mʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs ᴀʀᴇ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Ruby Speechley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I won't lie, I struggled with this book. The FMC was so unrelatable and the choices she made throughout the book just didn't seem realistic. There were some twists and turns scattered throughout but ultimately the plot seemed to drag on. It won't stop me from reading other books by this author in the future though.

OMW, I really enjoyed this book! Just when I had an idea about who had done what and to whom, I was lead down another path by a further twist in the tail! Couldn't wait to get to the end of this book to find out the culprit although, at times, there was a little too many twists which made the story a little difficult to follow. Some of the happenings were a little far fetched but overall I loved this book!
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this book.

Megan's hen weekend is going to be great... except that she doesn't really want to leave her fiance and daughter in the first place. To please her friend Danielle, she agrees to attend, leaving her daughter with her parents. But as she's leaving her parents' home, an evil prank threatens to ruin her weekend. When one prank becomes many and Megan's hen weekend becomes a nightmare, the reader is left to wonder who's behind all the nastiness and why is someone at the hen party out to ruin Megan's big day.
The whole novel was a bit over the top, especially the ending. At one point, I said to myself that the next time someone screamed, I was putting down the book for the night. The book was great and I wanted to know what happened next as much as the characters, but when too many big reactions happen, sometimes they lose their power.
Most of the characters were unlikeable as well. They served their purpose. There was a hint that anyone could have been behind the strange happenings. That said, it was hard for me to stay on Megan's side sometimes.
All that said, it was an engaging book and I was invested in finding out who was pulling all the strings and why. This book is definitely a Read It!

Note: I received an ARC of this book, at no cost to myself, from NetGalley.